Stop it! Please! It's not my Fault!

By:
Jesy , Age 16, Hillsdale, New Jersey

I don't know why. I have two teachers for math, of course one of them is the aid. Both know about my dyslexia, but they also don't have any experience with it. Mr. K, my math teacher, always complains about not writing down my notes, not paying attention, and always waiting til the last minute to ask questions. Mr. L, the aid is very good and kind, but he has the same beliefs as Mr. K.

Though Mr. L doesn't say it often, Mr. K always complains and says how I don't study. They think dyslexia only effects the reading and writing skills, but they are wrong. Dyslexia doesn't just effect my reading and writing. I can't remember certain things, such as formulas or my times tables. Mr. K also teaches us three different things at the same time, so when I'm still on, let's say "squares," he has already moved on to "circles," and then he moves on to "triangles," and I'm still stuck on squares.

My mind doesn't function that fast and I quickly become upset and I quit. I'm also the only one in my class with a LD, but not the only IEP student. The other IEP kids in the class have either ADD or ADHD. I also have no friends, so I don't know who to trust. It's already June and I thought I could trust my math teachers, but this past Monday I went after school to talk to my math teacher about my dyslexia so he can understand. Instead, right when I said "dyslexia," he almost yelled at me. I got so scared that I just nodded to what ever he said and left.

I feel so ashamed about my dyslexia and now I've become a mute in my math class because no matter what I do, my teachers get mad at me. But math is just one class that will give me problems until the end of the school year (last day is next Wed!) and I have many classes where the teachers try to help me and I have many good friends. So why should I be feel down because one class has two teachers who say cruel things to me? I often just want to yell "Stop it! Please! It's not my fault!"